The Sifuna crown: Have Gen Zs already found their presidential voice?

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna addressing supporters during the Linda Mwanchi Western Region rally. [File, Standard]

"Sisi ndio Sifuna!"

When you think about it, it does not sound like an ordinary political chant. It sounds like a statement of identity.

For months now, I have found myself returning to videos from the Linda Mwananchi rallies. Not to analyse Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna's speeches or count the politicians sharing his stage, but to watch the crowd.

And... Something about it does not feel ordinary.

Young people hang from trees. Others perch on mabati rooftops. Some balance on electricity poles under the scorching afternoon sun, while hundreds, if not thousands, squeeze into every available space to listen to him.

Then came something even more striking.

During his Western Kenya tour last weekend, supporters began making voluntary contributions to the movement.

For decades, politicians have conditioned Kenyans to expect money flowing from the stage to the crowd. Here, the crowd was reaching into its own pockets.

Whether it was Sh20, Sh100 or Sh500 is not really the point. The direction of the money is. People rarely invest, even a little, in something they do not believe in.

For months, political analysts have debated who would inherit Raila Odinga's place in Kenya's opposition politics.

President William Ruto has repeatedly reminded Kenyans that he has spent decades in politics and that leadership is earned through experience, resilience and years in the game.

Across the aisle, the emerging United Opposition appears to be betting on another formula: that bringing together seasoned political heavyweights under one banner will naturally create momentum.

But somewhere in Western Kenya, another possibility seems to be emerging.

What if people simply want to hear Edwin Watenya Sifuna?

Gen Z revolution 2.0?

Ever since the Gen Z protests, one question has remained constant: Who will Gen Zs choose?

Political parties tried to answer it. TV panels debated it, searching for a name, a face and a movement. All the while, the assumption was that Gen Zs would eventually rally behind one of their own, a completely new political figure.

And now, perhaps that was the wrong assumption and perhaps we have been asking the wrong question.

Videos of young people declaring that they would rally behind the Nairobi Senator have flooded social media. Some have even gone as far as saying that if Sifuna is not on the ballot, then no one else would be the right candidate for them.

Of course, rally attendance and social media enthusiasm do not automatically translate into votes.

Kenyan politics has repeatedly shown that momentum can fade as quickly as it builds. But they do also reveal where public attention is beginning to settle.

So what if generations do not necessarily choose leaders who look like them? What if they choose leaders who sound like them? Leaders who articulate their frustrations. Leaders who show up consistently enough to earn their attention.

Perhaps that is why the chant Sisi ndio Sifuna feels so significant.

No committee elected him. No coalition chose him. No political elders handed him the crown. If anything, the crowd seems to be placing it on his head, one rally at a time.

And this may be where Gen Zs see politics differently and why Sifuna feels different.

Sifuna's journey

Ironically, Sifuna's political journey did not begin with victory.

He sought the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket for the Kanduyi parliamentary seat during the 2017 party primaries but lost to John Makali.

He then shifted his political base to Nairobi, where he also narrowly lost the 2017 Nairobi senatorial race to Johnson Sakaja.

Despite those early defeats, his energetic 2017 campaign significantly raised his profile, leading to his appointment as ODM Secretary-General in February 2018. Sifuna would later rebound in the 2022 General Election, winning the Nairobi senatorial seat with 716,876 votes.

As ODM Secretary-General, Sifuna stood beside Raila Odinga, defending the party through some of its most difficult moments. While others chased headlines, it now appears he was quietly studying the craft.

Perhaps this is not even about succession.

There may never be another Raila Odinga, just as there will never be another Mwai Kibaki or another Daniel arap Moi.

Every political generation produces leaders who reflect its own moment. Maybe Sifuna is not trying to become Baba. Maybe that is why he is connecting.

He speaks in a way that feels conversational. Whether you agree with him or not is almost beside the point.

That is what makes the images from Western Kenya so striking.

Nobody instructed those young men to climb trees or rooftops. Nobody told the supporters to reach into their own pockets.

They did so because, for whatever reason, they believed something worth paying attention to was happening.

Whether Edwin Sifuna becomes Kenya's next president or the next great opposition leader is a question only time can answer.

But if the past few months have shown us anything, it is this: while the political space continues debating who should lead, the crowd may already have begun answering.